Pork Loin With Dried Fruit And Chestnut Stuffing Recipes

PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the raisins, prunes and apricots in a small bowl; pour in the brandy. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until hot, about 2 minutes. Set aside until the dried fruit is plump, at least 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and apple and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, sage, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook until the garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add the dried fruit?brandy mixture and cook until the skillet is dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer until the mixture is very soft and the skillet is almost dry, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Push the handle of a wooden spoon into the center of one end of the pork roast; work the handle through the length of the roast to create a tunnel, widening the tunnel with your fingers or a small paring knife until about 1 1/2 inches wide.
• Stuff the dried fruit mixture into the tunnel, firmly pressing to make sure it?s packed into the pork roast. Rub the outside of the pork roast with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If the pork has a skinny flap that runs along one side, tuck it under and tie kitchen twine around the pork in a few spots.
• Set a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the pork on the rack and roast until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 140 degrees F, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let the pork rest at least 20 minutes before slicing.

PORK LOIN WITH DRIED-FRUIT AND CHESTNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pork on a work surface. Hold a sharp knife parallel to work surface, and cut the pork almost in half, stopping 1 inch short of cutting through; open like a book.
• On work surface, arrange six 14-inch lengths of kitchen twine, 1 inch apart. Place pork, opened up, across twine. Sprinkle with chestnuts and dried fruit, leaving a 1-inch border all around; season stuffing with salt.
• Fold one long side over the other, overlapping slightly to form a cylinder; tie with twine. Rub with oil; sprinkle with cracked pepper and coriander, pressing to adhere. Season with salt. (To store, refrigerate, up to 1 day.)
• Place pork in a roasting pan; roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in meat (not stuffing) registers 145 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board (reserve pan); cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest (temperature will continue to rise).
• Place pan across two burners. Add wine; simmer, stirring constantly, until syrupy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add Dijon and broth; cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter. Slice pork, and serve with wine sauce.

HERB STUFFING WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Cut or tear the bread into bite-size pieces. Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread into a single layer. Bake until slightly dry and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.
• Meanwhile, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the dried fruit, sage, thyme, apple, onion, celery, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl.
• Add the toasted bread to the onion mixture and toss until evenly moistened. Stir in the egg. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and evenly spread without packing the stuffing down too much. Bake until the top is crusty, about 40 minutes. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the top. Continue to bake until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Garnish with parsley and thyme.

DRIED FRUIT STUFFED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine apricots, figs and raisins over medium heat. Add apple juice and chicken broth. Add sage, butter, ginger, garlic, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the fruits are reconstituted and the liquid is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Transfer the fruit mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until thick and smooth.
• Carve a tunnel through the center of the loin with a sharpening steel or wooden dowel. Widen the tunnel using your fingers. Inject the sauce into the opening using a pastry bag fitted with a metal tip. The filling should go all the way through the loin. Rub the pork all over with oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Sear the pork on a hot grill on all sides then transfer to a large baking pan. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 160 degrees F, about 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer pork roast to a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes before carving into pinwheels. Serve with pan juices.

FRUIT-STUFFED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix prunes, apricots, ginger, orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and cinnamon in a bowl; season with salt and black pepper.
• Open pork roast and spoon stuffing down the center; fold meat over stuffing and tie securely in several places with kitchen twine. Set roast onto a rack in a roasting pan.
• Combine brown sugar, flour, cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon cumin, and mustard powder into a paste; spread brown sugar mixture over the roast.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a meat thermometer inserted into center of stuffing reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer roast to a serving platter and tent with aluminum foil while you make gravy.
• Skim fat from roasting pan and transfer defatted drippings into a small saucepan. Pour 1/2 cup water into roasting pan and scrape up and dissolve any browned bits of food into water; pour into saucepan with pan juices. Bring pan juices to a boil over medium heat. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and whisk cornstarch mixture into pan juices, stirring constantly until thickened, about 1 minute. Strain gravy into a gravy boat. Serve gravy with roast.

STUFFED PORK LOIN WITH FIGS

Steps:

• Put figs in hot water to soak. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Wriggle a thin, sharp knife into each end of meat, making a kind of pilot hole. Then use handle of a long wooden spoon to force a hole all the way through meat, making it as wide as your thumb.
• Drain when figs are tender but not mushy, reserving liquid. Stuff figs into roast, all the way to center from each end.
• Combine salt, pepper and rosemary and rub it all over meat. Put meat in a roasting pan and pour about half a cup of fruit-soaking liquid over it. Roast undisturbed for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and continue to cook, basting with pan juices (or added liquid, like wine or water, if necessary) every 15 minutes or so. When an instant-read thermometer registers 145 to 150 degrees - probably after 40 to 60 minutes - remove roast to a warm platter. (When checking meat, be sure thermometer is in meat, not fruit.)
• Let sit for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put roasting pan on stove over one or two burners set to medium-high. If there is a lot of liquid, reduce it to about half a cup, scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to release any brown bits. If pan is dry, add half a cup of wine and follow same process. When sauce has reduced, slice roast and serve with sauce.